Runaway, Love
by LoveIsAWitch
Summary: Fred and Hermione kept their relationship a secret, not knowing where they stood with each other. What happens when Fred finds out Ron kissed Hermione during the final battle? Its been four years since, and Hermione has returned to tell her story.
1. Chapter 1

_Why _had Fred asked Angie to this stupid ball? All she's done this entire time is flirt with Oliver Wood!

He sighed as he watched them from across the Great Hall. He took a large drink from his goblet, then slammed it back down. _So what if it wasn't pumpkin juice? _Fred thought this justified as good reason to have a bit of fire whiskey. _So what if the ball hadn't even really begun yet?_ He scowled at the thought. The TriWizard Champions hadn't even come in for their big dance number yet, and he was already hitting the hard stuff. He pushed away from the table he had been leaning against. _There is no way I'm letting her ruin my night._ He had about had it with the way Angelina teased him. She would flirt with him, act as if she truly wanted to be with him, then run off to some other bloke.

Just then the song changed, and the oak doors swung open. The champions swirled in with their dates, and some little chit in a purple dress caught his eye. He couldn't tell who the girl was from the back, but she was dancing with Viktor Krum. As he watched they way she moved gracefully across the floor, he forgot all about how angry he had been. The girl had chocolate brown hair that had been pulled into an elegant updo. There were a few stray curls hanging about, and he longed to pull on one, just to see if it would bounce back up. The dress hung to her curves in all the right places, and he was sure there was no way this bird went to Hogwarts. He would have noticed a body like that before now.

The song end after what Fred felt like an eternity. Before the girl could leave the dance floor, or even worse, agree to dance with someone else, Fred moved quickly up to her. He stood behind her, and placed his hands just above her hips. "Care to dance, love?" He asked in a husky voice.

Hermione quickly turned around to slap the boy touching her, but her hand fell limp by her side when she recognized the long red hair, and sleek athletic build that was Fred Weasley.

"Oh!" They both said in surprise.

Hermione blushed, "Er, sure. I suppose it won't hurt." She murmured. Still in shock that Fred Weasley of all people wanted to dance with her.

Fred, however, recover quite quickly. He pulled her closer to him, and moved his hands lower to her hips. He might not have been expecting Granger, but dancing with her was still a much better option than watching Angie and Oliver. Besides, she looked rather pretty tonight.

As it happened, it was a slow song. The two swayed slowly in an awkward silence.

It must have been the firewhiskey talking, though, because a sober Fred would have just left it as awkward and ended it after one dance. This Fred, though, he was enjoying the way she smelled, and they way she fit almost perfectly to him a bit too much to let her walk away when the song finished. Instead, he had held onto her hips when she tried to pull away, and smirked down at her.

She sighed, and pushed at his chest again. "Fred, the song is over, you can let me go now." Her voice was slightly irritated.

"Well, then it's a good thing I didn't ask for just _one _dance, now isn't it?" His smirk grew as she huffed and placed her hands back around his neck.

"Why did you want to dance with me anyway?" She asked. Was it the alcohol, or was there really a bit of pain twinged in her voice? Fred wasn't sure.

"You want the truth, my dear Granger?" She rolled her eyes.

_And now is when he says Molly or Harry told him to._

She nodded, "Clearly, or else I wouldn't have asked."

He frowned for a second at her tone. _There had definitely been a hint of sadness that time._

"Well, I asked because you looked rather beautiful when you were dancing with Krum. And if anyone gets to dance with the prettiest girl here, it should be me."

_Now, where had that come from? It most certainly must be the firewhiskey._

That was not what Hermione had been expecting. She stared up at him wide-eyed for a moment, before chalking it up to usual Weasley twin antics. "Right. And why would it be you?" If he was going to tease her, she was most certainly going to throw a few punches as well.

"Well, I've had an unfortunate bout of bad luck lately, don't you think I deserve it?"

_Oh, he deserves something alright..._ "Oh? What kind of bad luck?" She scoffed as he feigned innocence.

"Well, what with that git giving us vanishing gold this summer-"

"That you won illegally, I might add,"

"And not being old enough to enter the tournament,"

"That's hardly unfortunate, seeing how dangerous it is."

"Then being turned into an old man-"

"I warned you not to try,"

"And Angie's been all over Oliver for weeks-"

"What happened to Katie?"

"Percy's been a right prat the entire time he's been here,"

"He's always been a prat."

Fred sighed, "You're really taking the fun out of whining, did you know?"

Hermione laughed. "Oh, my apologies! You really have had such a _rough _term, haven't you? Poor little Freddie." It was her turn to smirk up at him now.

The song had changed again, though this time neither of them noticed it.

He pouted, "You wound me!" He sighed dramatically, before flipping his hair to the side and joining in on her laughter.

They also hadn't noticed that they had managed to move even closer together. "You know, I don't think I've ever made you laugh before. I quite like the sound of it, actually."

She looked into his eyes again, and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Fred sucked in a shaky breath. _Merlin, when did Granger become so... irresistable? Does she know how sexy she looks nibbling on her lip like that?_

He opened his mouth to ask her just that, when Ron stomped over and pulled roughly on her arm. "Is it _my _turn to dance with you, yet?" He asked in what Ron seemed to think was a flirty tone. And just like that, it was over. Hermione smiled apologetically at him, then turned to dance with Ron.

Fred just rolled his eyes and walked away. _Now, where did I leave that firewhiskey?_ He was definitely not drunk enough to be think about his little brothers best friend that way.

* * *

NOT ALL OF THE CHAPTERS WILL BE THIS SHORT! Only the first eight or so, up until the point where the story really starts. These are just little drabbles leading up to the actual story, so it has a background.


	2. Chapter 2

The first D.A. meeting had just ended, and Hermione was gathering her papers up while everyone else cleared out of the Hogshead. Ron and Harry had already left, leaving her on her own. She had just gotten everything in order, when someone bumped into her, knocking them out of her hands. She turned to see George and Lee chasing each other out the door, and down the path towards the school. She huffed and bent down to pick them up, only to find Fred already grabbing them.

"Sorry, love. I don't think they even realized the hit you." He stood and handed her the papers.

She sighed, "Thanks Fred." He nodded, and walked with her out the door.

"What are all those papers for, anyway?" He said, gesturing towards the stack in her hands.

She grinned wickedly. "You should enjoy this, actually." His eyebrows shot up as he looked down at her. "These are the papers I had everyone sign. I have them all charmed." Her grin widened.

"To do what exactly?" He was not nervous. He really wasn't. Hermione didn't scare him... Much..

"Well, I can always add more charms to them if I need to, but right now anyone who tells about the meetings will have their entire face covered in large boils." Freds jaw dropped as she laughed. "But I've been trying to figure out how to make the target area their forehead, and to get the boils to spell out 'SNEAK', though I've had no luck for is so far."

Fred laughed, "Blimey! Mione, thats brilliant!" Okay, so maybe he should be a little scared of her.

They continued walking, making small talk about the D.A., until their hands accidentally brushed against each other. They both quickly drew their hands away, but acted as if nothing happened. From then on they walked in a comfortable silence, neither acknowledging the electric shock that had ran up their arms at the brief contact.

* * *

Again, I know its rather short. NOT ALL OF THE CHAPTERS WILL BE THIS SHORT! I just want to reassure everyone lol


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione had always loved watching it snow when she was little. At her own home she would have had to watch from the window as it fell, but here, at Grimmauld Place, she could sit on the front stoop thanks to a warming charm that had been place when the house was built. That had been her plan, but it seemed someone had already beaten her to it. At first, she had assumed one of the twins was here to watch the snow fall as well, but then she heard it. It had been so quiet, Hermione thought she had imagined it. Then, she noticed the slight shake to his shoulders. _So he _had _sniffled._ She bit her lip as she watched over the boy. _I should leave... This is an invasion of his privacy.._ Instead of leaving, she stepped forward and sat next him. She didn't ask what was wrong, knowing he had to be worried about his father. She just simply placed her hand on top of his and squeezed lightly.

Fred stiffened when he realized he wasn't alone. He looked away to hide his tear stained cheeks. A soft hand hovered over his own before squeezing it softly. He knew then that it wasn't George.

"I just need some time. I'll be okay." He still hadn't turned to see who it was yet, but it had to be one of the few woman staying in the house. There was no chance any of his brothers would hold his hand like this. Whoever it was had apparently noticed he was upset, though.

Hermione thought his word over for a minute. "Do you need time and space?" She said quietly.

Fred turned to look at her then. He considered her words. "Just time." He flipped his hand over to lace their fingers together.

Hermione smiled and pulled a small tin of cookies out of her robes. "Biscuit? I bought them at Honeydukes before break. I thought I'd have some while I watched it snow."

_So thats what she was doing up this late! _Fred nodded and popped one into his mouth. Snickerdoodle, his favorite. He smiled as he watched her take small bites of her own biscuit.

"These are my favorite." She said. "Harry and Ron hate them though, so I usually just buy chocolate."

"They're my favorite, too." His voice was still a little hoarse, but Hermione grinned up at him anyway.

"Who would have thought I, Hermione Granger, the know-it-all-bookworm, would have something in common with you, Fred Weasley, infamous rule-breaking-prankster." She laughed lightly, and Fred grinned.

"How do you do that?" He asked curiously.

"Do what?" She looked up at him confused.

"How do you tell me and George apart? Not even Mum can do that." She blushed and looked away.

"Oh..." She cleared her throat nervously. "Your hair is a little darker than George's... And your eyes.. They're uhh... A brighter blue than his." Her blush deepened and she refused to look at him.

Fred took in her blush, and smiled. It was his turn to squeeze her hand. Any other time, he would have teased her, but tonight was different. Tonight she wasn't his little brothers best friend, she was just Hermione.

He placed his hand under her chin and made her look at him. "Hermione.." She bit her lip, and he was instantly reminded of last year at the Yule Ball when she had done the same thing. He took in a shaky breath, trying to push to memory away. "Thank you."

Her deep brown eyes clouded with confusion. "For what?"

"For knowing the difference between George and I. Its nice to know I'm more than just the other George to someone." He tried to hide the bitter in his tone, but knew Hermione had caught it. He also knew she was thinking of the recent scandal in Gryffindor. Fred had finally gotten Angelina to agree to go out with him, only to walk in on her snogging George. It wasn't George's fault, he hadn't known about them yet, and Angelina had kissed him. _I thought it was you_ she had said. Fred had been disgusted at her complete ignorance, and hadn't talked to her since. He seen the pity flash in Hermione's eyes, but it was quickly replaced with understanding.

"You're welcome... Fred?"

"Yeah, love?"

"You deserved better than her, anyway. The way she was with Oliver..." Fred nodded.

"Thanks... Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." She stared up at him, but didn't say anything. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. "For not doing that last year, when I asked you to dance."

Still Hermione didn't say anything. She moved closer to him, and they continued to watch the snow fall well into the night. When she began to drift to sleep, Fred carefully lifted her from the step, and carried her back to her room. He laid her on her bed, and pulled the comforter up to her shoulders and tucked her in. Looking down at her, Fred sighed. _Merlin, she is beautiful. _He stood to leave, but stopped at the door to have one last look at her. He shook his head and returned to his own room. Laying back on his bed, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, thoughts of Hermione clouding even his dreams.

* * *

Anyone recognize what show the lines about time and space came from? I thought it was cute, so I just had to steal it! Points to anyone who can guess!


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione was quite proud of herself. The D.A. meetings were going great, they were even learning patronuses. She was walking around the room watching as everyone attempted to conjure their own patronus, when she reached Fred and George. George had already gotten the movement down, but he didn't seem to be able make a corporeal patronus. Fred,however, was swinging his wand in large jerky circles.

"

Focus on something happier, George, or it will never take on a shape." He nodded and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

Fred frowned at her, "Aren't you going to help me at all?" He pouted.

Hermione laughed and moved next to him. "Your circles are too fast, and they aren't smooth enough. Try going slower, with a more fluid arc, like this." She demonstrated with her own wand. He nodded, and tried again, but he still wasn't doing it exactly right. She sighed and moved behind him. "More like this." She reached forward and grasped his wand hand, moving it in a small, slow circle. "See? Just like that. Now concentrate on the happiest memory you can think of, like your first prank or something."

He grinned, but gently pulled his hand away from hers. "That's not a happy memory. Mum nearly killed us for it, and Charlie still hasn't forgiven us."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but stepped back. "Oh? And what would be your happiest memory then?" He looked over at her, staring as if she had grown two heads.

When he finally broke eye contact, he said the incantation instead of answering her question. "Expecto Patronum!" A small, ghostly red fox darted out from the end of his wand. His eyes widened and he turned quickly to George, only to see a nearly identical fox running around him as well. Though they looked quite similar, it was clear to Hermione that it was a swift fox, and Fred's was just a red fox.

She laughed, "Of course."

The twins looked at her strangely. "What?" They said in unison, grinning.

"Foxes are known as being clever, sneaky, creative, and mate rather frequently." Both boys grew a slight blush. "You boys are also intelligent, love trickery, you're crafty, and it's well known that the two of you have made your way through your share of the seventh year girls." George grinned, his blush fading slightly. Fred's blush spread, and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "And the red hair? Thats probably a factor as well."

"Why do you suppose-" George started,

"That the two of us," Fred said.

"Have different types,"

"Even though we are just alike?"

Hermione tilted her head to the side as she processed this. "Well, you are a lot alike, but there are subtle differences." She made brief eye contact with Fred, and remember how he had thanked her for knowing they weren't the same. "George likes to brag, and show off. Fred is proud, but not overly so. It's more of a quiet pride. I'd say that's why the two of you so rarely but heads. If you both were showoffs, then you would try to one up each other all the time, and never get anything done."

George nodded, and wrapped his arm around Fred's neck, pulling him down and roughing up his hair. "Well, they say its the quiet ones ya gotta watch out for, don't they Freddie?" George winked at Hermione. "Everyone knows I'm wild, they just hear whispers about you, eh?" Fred laughed and pushed George away.

"You don't know what you're talking about, mate." Fred laughed again, and ran his fingers through his long hair, letting it fall back in place.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but moved on to Luna, who also seemed to be struggling.

George sobered as soon as she was out of earshot. "Not a happy memory, eh?"

Fred looked at him in confusion, "What are you on about, now?"

George crossed his arms, "If our first prank wasn't happy enough for you, what was? Because it worked perfectly well for me, mate."

Fred sighed and shrugged. His eyes wandered over to where Hermione was attempting to help Luna.

"Was it when we used the boxing telescope on Granger?" He said excitedly. "Because that was a pretty good memory too, and I don't blame you for being afraid to let her know about that was what you used."

Fred rolled his, "I kissed her." He said quietly. George stared at him, waiting for Fred to yell out that he was kidding.

When Fred remained silent George nodded slowly. "I... didn't realize... You never said anything..."

"I didn't realize it myself, honestly. I mean, there were a couple times I checked her out you know, but what bloke hasn't? Then one night, when Dad was still in the hospital, she was there, and I just did it." He shrugged again, and avoided looking George directly in the eye.

"So that... That was your memory?" George said awkwardly. Fred had liked girls before, but more as conquests, not in a long term way. George wasn't sure how to deal with this side of his twin.

"She can tell us apart, did you know that? It's not just guesses. I think she's the only person, other than you, who has never called me George. Not that I mind, you know, it's just..."

"Different." They said in unison. Fred nodded.

"Before Angie, it never really bothered me. But now? It means something that she knows I'm not you."

"I get that." George said, nodding. "If you can get her, I say go for it. But Freddie, don't hurt her. She gets enough of that from Ron."

Fred grinned, "Oh I am way better than Ron." He said, puffing out his chest. They both laughed, and fell into easy conversation about their prat of a brother, and no, not Percy.


	5. Chapter 5

Fred and George just left. They left, without so much as a warning, or goodbye. Hermione's breathing was labored as she watched them fly away. Why would Fred do that? He had seemed... _Seemed like what? That he actually liked you? You know better than that Hermione. The twins are never serious about anything, let alone you. _

She leaned carefully against the wall behind her, as she watched them disappear into the night, chain rattling from one of their brooms. Her hands shook at her side, so she clenched them into fists. She shouldn't let this bother her this way, she really shouldn't. It was that Fred was the second boy to have shown feelings for her, to kiss her so gently, and then to leave her. Viktor had been different though, she knew he had to leave eventually, had been prepared for it really. It had still hurt, but not as much as this. She thought she had developed something with Fred, but it seemed she had not. She wasn't even worthy enough for a farewell.

She took in a shaky breath and closed her eyes. She would _not_ cry over this. It wasn't that big of a deal, worse things happened all the time.

_At least now I understand what Lavender and Parvati are going on about all the time... It really does feel as if a part of me is broken._

She brushed away a stray tear, and rushed back into the school before anyone could notice how upset she was.

Fred sighed as he landed in front of 93 Diagon Alley. He hadn't meant to leave without telling Hermione goodbye, it just hadn't occurred to him to do it. He had got caught up in the excitement, but then as he was leaving, he also caught sight of Hermione's face. They weren't a couple or anything, but they had been well on their way there. Her eyes had been wide, first because she had been impressed, or so he liked to think, but then in horror as she realized what was happening. His heart had clenched as he seen the hurt expression slowly come over her face, but there was nothing he could have done at that point. It was too late, he couldn't just land with a 'just kidding, Umbridge' just to comfort her, though it had definitely crossed his mind.

He climbed the stairs into their flat, thankful that they had had the sense to have it all set up before school had started in the fall. He threw himself onto his new bed, and closed his eyes. He groaned and rolled over. Every time he closed his eyes, he seen Hermione's face, emotions evident on her delicate features. He glared at the ceiling, it was his fault she had been hurt, and he hated it. He wanted to hold her close and tell her everything would be okay. _When did it get like that? To where all I want to do is protect her, even from myself? How did I get to this point, without even realizing it? How did she slip into my heart without me even realizing it?_

He buried his face in his bright orange pillow. He hated not being in control of his feelings, and it seemed that Hermione was the only person who could do this to him. Why hadn't he just said goodbye? Everything would have ended so much better. It wouldn't have even been a real goodbye, more like a see you later. There's only a month left of school, he would just have to wait to see her when the term ended.


	6. Chapter 6

The summer had come and gone quickly. Hermione had spent most of it with her parents, only showing up at the burrow two weeks before the term started. She hadn't meant to do it to avoid Fred, but as the summer progressed, she had stopped thinking of him as often, and now she was sure she could be around him without becoming angry.

Fred had went to grab lunch for George and himself, when he caught sight of his little sister in Flourish and Blott's. He grinned and ducked into the shop, searching for her. He turned into the aisle she had been in when he spotted her, and grabbed the girl standing there.

She shrieked and and quickly pulled her wand out of her robes, shoving it into Fred's throat. Fred paled as his eyes darted between his sister, and the girl he had thought was his sister. Ginny stood a few feet away laughing at Hermione, who had yet to pull her wand away. He swallowed dryly.

"Mione! I swear, I thought you were Ginny!" He raised his hands in the air, as a muggle would under arrest, and slowly began backing away from her.

Hermione shoved her wand back into her pocket, but continued glaring at him.

"Hermione, calm down." Ginny said, still laughing. "He didn't mean to scare you, you heard him."

Hermione turned and stomped away from them. It appeared she had been wrong, just the sight of Fred made her want to hex him into next week.

Ginny sighed, "Don't take it personal, she's been like this since she arrived at the burrow." She said rolling her eyes. "You should probably apologize though, or else she'll be in a foul mood all day." Ginny nudged him in the direction Hermione had went, before returning to browse the shelf in front of her.

Fred shoved his hands into his pockets, and went after her.

She was leaning against a shelf in secluded corner of the shop, with her eyes closed, and her fists clenched. He hadn't meant to startle her that badly, he hadn't meant to scare _her_ at all actually.

"Mione?" He said softly.

Her eyes shot open at the sound of his voice. "Fred." Her voice was flat.

"I'm sorry." He shuffled his feet, coming closer to her. "Not just for scaring you either,"

She raised her eyebrows, "Oh?"

He nodded. "I should have told you we were leaving."

_Well,_ she thought, _Weasleys are never ones to beat around the bush, now are they?_

She stared at him, but didn't respond.

He sighed and ran his hand through his now short hair. "I can't get it out of my head, they way you looked the night I left. I should have let you know, should have said goodbye. I'm sorry."

She stood up straight then, Hermione Granger took pity from no one. "And why would you have done that?" She said sharply. "You kissed me once, Fred. We aren't a couple, no need to apologise to me." She tried to push past him, but his hand wrapped around her wrist, keeping her there.

"And if I want us to be? A couple I mean." His blue eyes hid slightly behind his lashes, and his voice was low.

Hermione's breath caught. She had not expected that. "Oh!" She was speechless, a rare occurrence for her.

Fred moved closer to her. "Let me take you out to one dinner. If you never want to speak to me after that, then so be it. Just give me one chance though, that's all I'm asking."

Hermione nodded curtly, then moved past him. She turned, "Tonight as seven then. I'll meet you outside of your shop."

Fred grinned, and nodded wildly as she shook her head and walked out of the shop.

It was 7:05 and Fred was worried Hermione had stood him up. He was standing outside the shop bouncing on the heels of his feet. He was dressed in muggle clothes, a nice shirt and dark denim jeans. George had questioned him about it, but Fred had just said he had a date with a muggle born, not specifying who she was, just incase it ended badly.

Hermione, it seemed, was running a bit late. It wasn't as if she could apparate yet, and there wasn't a floo connected to their shop. She jogged up to where Fred was waiting, already ten minutes late.

"Sorry," She said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Took a little longer sneaking out than I had thought."

Fred's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "You snuck out of the burrow?' He said in awe.

She looked at him strangely. "Of course. I couldn't exactly tell Molly I was going out with her son tonight, now could I? She'd have our wedding planned before I returned home." Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Now, where are we off to?"

Fred smiled and hooked his arm with hers. "Ready for side-along?" She looked at him apprehensively. "I'm not going to splinch you!" He exclaimed.

She smiled nervously, and nodded. "Alright then, lets go." She felt the rough pull begin in her belly, then her entire body felt as if it were being squeezed tightly, before being stretched back out.

She swayed slightly as she opened her eyes, now in a dark alley behind a muggle restaurant.

"Alright there, love?" Fred said.

She nodded as they walked to the front of the building. "I love this place! They have the best pasta here!" He laughed and wrapped his arm around her.

"I like muggle food. It's way different, especially muggle Italian. Bloody delicious!"

Hermione nodded and walked with him into the restaurant. "I used to eat here when I was little."

"Me too! My Aunt Lizzy used to bring us all here, but that was along time ago." He said as he pulled out her chair for her.

She sat down. "Why did she stop?" Hermione asked conversationally.

"She died shortly after the first wizarding war, before they caught all the Death Eaters. One of them broke into her house and waited for her to come home." He shuddered at the memory. "She was Dad's sister, but it wasn't very long after Uncle Gideon, and Uncle Fabian had passed. It was a rough year for us." Hermione immediately regretted asking.

"Oh, I had no idea. Ron never said anything..."

Fred shook his head. "He was so little when it happened, he probably doesn't even remember. Dad was pretty upset, but he tried to hide it, so he wouldn't upset us kids. I remember though, the way he stiffened when he received the owl about it, the way Mum's face had paled as she read over his shoulder..." Fred's eyes snapped back into focus, and he grinned lightly. "Do you know what you'd like?"

Hermione picked a random item on the menu, and tried to process what he had just said. She vaguely remember hearing about an Elizabeth Weasley in a history book about the war, but she had never connected it. It was a common wizarding last name... The book had said she had suffered greatly...

"So, how was your summer?" He asked pulling her from her thoughts. She smiled weakly, and responded. They made light conversation through the rest of the meal.

It hadn't been a terrible date, Hermione had to admit. She wasn't sure what she had expected from Fred, but it hadn't been this. She had actually had a lovely time, and found herself disappointed when the date was nearing its end.

He had apparated them outside the gate leading the burrow, and was still standing extremely close to her.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did." He said quietly.

She nodded and smiled at him. "I did actually. Thank you." He was staring down at her intensely. He raised his hand, and let the back of his fingers graze the side of her face, before cupping her cheek. He leaned down slowly, giving her time to back away, before planting his lips upon hers.

"I hope you'll let me take you out again." He said as they broke away.

She grinned and backed away slightly. "We'll see."

His eyes widened. "What?"

She shrugged, noncommittally. "We'll see." She turned and jogged up the path to his former house, waved from the doorway, then disappeared into the burrow.

Fred frowned as he apparated back to his flat. He was definitely glad he hadn't told George whom he had went out with. He would never hear the end of it if George knew Granger had left him standing there like that.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione was on her way back to the common room from a late night studying in the library, when she heard something rustling behind a nearby painting. She stepped to the side of it, and pulled her wand out of her robes. The painting swung open, and she could hear whoever it was talking to themselves.

"Why the hell did I give Potter that map? I'm never gonna find her now." The voice muttered. Hermione instantly relaxed when she seen Fred step out and start off towards the library, not noticing her behind him.

She silenced her footsteps, and jogged up behind him. The paintings around them were snickering, and Fred was growing irritated, not only with the paintings, but for not thinking this plan through. Hermione could be anywhere is this damned castle, and more than likely in bed. There was no way he would be able to get up there to see her, he didn't even know the password anymore.

He was about to step through the library doors, when he suddenly thought better of it. He'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble if he was caught here. He stopped and ran his hand through his hair, sighing. He froze, Madam Pince was walking towards the library doors from the other end of the corridor. She was looking at a piece of parchment in her hand, but it was only a matter of time before she looked up. _Oh, now I've done it..._

Hermione grinned and pushed him roughly from behind, so that he would stumble into the hidden alcove behind the tapestry next to them. He landed against the cold stone wall, and Hermione quickly covered his mouth with her hand to stifle the surprised sound he had let out.

"Looking for someone?" She whispered.

Fred's eyes widened as he took in the girl in front of him. Her hair was falling out of its loose plait, her eyes were lit with mischief, with a smug grin that made him want to laugh. He had never seen her like this, but he loved it.

He pulled her hand away from his mouth, and kissed the back of it. He smirked at her slight blush, then pulled her closer. "Looking for you, love." He said huskily.

She peeked out the corner of the tapestry, and seeing that Madam Pince was already gone, she shoved at him roughly again. "That first one was for scaring me a Flourish and Blott's." She said. "That one was for sneaking in here. You could get us both in trouble!" She said, slapping his arm lightly.

He laughed, "It's worth it." He pulled her close and ran his hands down her sides. "I've missed you."

Hermione grinned. "I'll be back at the burrow in two weeks. You couldn't wait?" He shook his head, and nuzzled her neck.

"You'll be at the burrow, I won't. We hired this girl, Verity, to help us with the shop so we could have meetings with investors. So now we're looking to expand the shop to other locations, and I'm the lucky bloke that gets to look for those locations. I'll be busy most of your break. Besides, none of family knows about us, we don't want to give Mum a heart attack, do we?"

She sighed, and buried her head in his chest. "I haven't even told Ron and Harry about us." She said quietly.

She could feel him nodding above her. "I haven't really told George either. I mean, he knows I kissed you, but he thinks it was just a one time thing."

She ran her hands up and down his back. "What are we doing Fred?"

"We're doing whatever you want, love."

"And what do you want?" She said, looking up at him.

"You."

She blushed, but pulled his head down to hers. "Funny, that's what I want too." She whispered before placing her lips on his.

Fred sighed contently into the kiss, and pulled her even closer. He hadn't come just to snog her, but he definitely wasn't going to object. He slid one hand down her waist, and pushing her robes aside, slid his hand up the back of her shirt.

Hermione groaned as her bare skin came into contact with his hand, and she bit his bottom lip lightly.

They finally broke apart for air, their breathing labored. "I missed you too," Hermione said breathlessly.

Fred groaned and pulled away from her slightly. "I can tell." He took in the sight in front of him again. Her hair was mussed up where his hands had pulled at it, her lips swollen from his teeth tugging at them, and her face was flushed from the lack of oxygen.

He laughed, knowing he must look quite the same. "Hermione..."

"Hmm?" She said, her hands still roaming over his back and chest.

"I love you." He stated without hesitation.

Hermione's hand froze in place. She looked up at him eyes wide. "Fred... If you're saying that just so we will go farther, then-" Fred shook his head violently.

"No. I mean that's not what I'm after at all. I'm just in love with you. You're all I ever think about. All day, thoughts of you invade me. Then at night, you slip into my dreams. I never tire of thinking of you, even. I want to spend the rest of my life thinking about you, being with you, loving you. You don't have to say it back," His voice cracked slightly here, "But I needed to tell you that. I don't want you to think I'm only after your body, when really I'm after your heart." He said in a rush.

Hermione stared up at him. She could feel his heart hammering in his chest underneath her hand. She bit her bottom lip, and nodded slowly.

"Say something, please." He said desperately.

"When I was with Viktor," Fred's face soured but he remained silent. "I had _some_ feelings for him. I thought about him in the way I used to think of Ron." Fred looked as if he were going to speak up then, but Hermione held up a hand, stopping him. "About a week before the end of the tournament, he told me that he loved me as well. Being the foolish fourth year that I was, I believed it. And unfortunately, I played right into his hand. I was... with him..." Fred's throat felt as if it had swelled shut, and he couldn't get any air to pass through. "I regret it, now. But at least I learned from that experience. I learned that what he felt for me was not love, nor was the way I felt for him. The way I feel about you... It's much different. It's stronger, more powerful. I'm not sure if this is love, but I am sure that the feelings you just described for me... They aren't half as much as I feel for you. If what you feel for me is in fact love, then I suppose I must be in far deeper than you are."

Fred stared at her, processing what she had just said. He wrapped his arms around her, and covered her lips with his once more.

He pulled away, and brushed the hair out of her face. "You could have just said, 'No, Fred, I love you more.' Thats what normal girls do, you know? They don't leave guys hanging like that. It's bloody terrifying!" Hermione laughed, and hugged him again. "That's why I came tonight. I was lying and bed, and it hit me. I had to tell you, I couldn't just keep it to myself."

Hermione nodded. "I think... after the wedding would be a good time to let everyone know, don't you? Everyone will be together, and if we wait till the service is over, we won't be stealing anyone's thunder."

Fred stared down at her confused. "Hermione, you can't steal thunder..." He said slowly.

She snickered, "Fred, it's a muggle saying..."

He sighed and shook his head, smiling lightly. "Muggles are weird..."


End file.
